Honest-to-God Priest

From the wheat fields of Wichita, Kan., Paul Ryan entered the Society of Mary Formation Center in Kirkwood, Mo., much to his mother’s dismay.

“I’ve never regretted it,” he told me as we sat in the breezeway between the Administration Building and Reinbolt Hall. “Time has gone by so fast. Where did all those years go?”

Well, 35 of them were spent teaching in Society of Mary high schools – Central Catholic, St. Joseph’s, St. Mary’s, McBride, Mary-hurst, Holy Redeemer and Gross. People said that the lines outside his confessional were consistently the longest – and that his office lights often burned late as students and alumni sought his paternal ministry.

Then, in October of 1973, Ryan was appointed St. Mary’s Registrar.

“Our students are top-notch,” he beamed, waving his constant-companion cigar. “Plus, in the registrar’s office, we’re the oil that greases the wheel,” he pointed out proudly.

Starting his days with 7:35 a.m. Mass in Assumption Chapel, this straight-and-narrow, honest-to-God priest has always called it like he sees it.

“I have tried to have an open mind to a lot of these (Vatican II) changes,” he shared. “But I’m an old-time priest, really.

“And I can’t stand long sermons; the mind can only accept as much as can the seat of the pants,” he underscored in his sturdy way.

“When I finally get to meet The Man Upstairs, I bet he’s just gonna say, ‘Thanks, Ryan, you tried hard. Don’t really know how you made it up here, though!’”

Well, Paul Ryan, there are a whole lot of us who will.

Determination. Sheer determination.

The Rev. Paul Ryan, S.M., retired from administration since 1986, has been a Marianist for 69 years.